7:00 PM Odd Shoe Paul Cotter directs a 10-minute drama about a young boy who’d love to replace his ratty-looking shoes before asking out the girl of his dreams.

7:10 Diversion A Chicago lawyer gets caught up in international intrigue while trying to save his family from threats made by an anonymous phone caller. Chris Folkens directed this 14-minute suspense film.

7:30 Happily After A budding romance morphs into a potentially dangerous love triangle involving an ex-husband in director John Klein’s 75-minute thriller.

9:15 Undercity Director Andrew Wonder follows urban historian Steve Duncan as he takes viewers into rarely-seen sections of New York City in this 28-minute documentary.

9:45 The Wanteds Director Stephanie Smith’s 86-minute documentary/drama about eccentric musician Tommy Harrington, who discovers his girlfriend is pregnant just as he’s about to launch a national tour as the one-man band, The Wanteds.

Any doubt that The Buzzcocks could still be vital in the 1990s is blown away by “Innocence,” the second track on Trade Test Transmissions. As lead vocalist-guitarist Pete Shelley sings, “Something hesitated in the sky when I found you/Something emanated from your eyes, my dream came true,” the band plays at full tilt behind him. Combining romantic longing with unbridled punk energy has been The Buzzcocks’ specialty since this UK band formed in 1977.

This is the first release to showcase what The Buzzcocks have been up to since Shelley and guitarist Steve Diggle revived the band with new recruits, Phil Barker and Tony Barber in 1991. The commercial first single, “Do It” has enough power to carry it past any accusations that these guys are selling out, and “Alive Tonight” captures the excitement of hitting the local party scene. The Buzzcocks explore more disturbing material on songs like the paranoia-driven “Last To Know” and nightmarish “Unthinkable,” but the melodies never lag.

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About This Blog

Broken Hearted Toy is an eclectic celebration of creativity, with over 2,000 posts since 2009.

It's based in Chicago but covers power pop, garage, cutting-edge, and 1960s rock from around the globe; along with occasional bits on art; literature; and theatre.

Top of the hill is a nice place to be at. - - - "Elevated Observations" by The Hollies.

Check out some of my previoius creative endeavors.

Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff was a weekly Internet show created by and starring Jeff Kelley. It mostly consisted of comedy bits and obscure 1960s garage rock set to vintage TV and film clips but also spotlighted entertainment events around Illinois.

My wife Pam and I created a handful of series (each episode was about two minutes long) that were shown on Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff. They included Manchester Gallery (see description below); Old Days, which I hosted in the persona of a cranky old man named Fritz Willoughby; Roving Reporter, where I played the clueless title character; What's With Terry?, a performance arts program; and Hanging With The Hollies, a takeoff on Breakfast With The Beatles.

I've also worked with Kelley and Willy Deal on comedy clips, and with Kelley and David Metzger on films for the annual Nightmare on Chicago Street Halloween festival in Elgin.

I'm particularly proud of this 21-episode comedy series Pam and I created for Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff. Each installment was a few minutes long, and featured me portraying Terrence, the curator of a pop culture museum.

I was a staff writer for this Chicago-based magazine from 1987 to 2015. The Illinois Entertainer has been covering rock music for over 40 years, and can be found in stores and entertainment venues, as well as in an online edition.

Chicago Art Machine was a web-based publishing company run by Editor-in-Chief, Kathryn Born, and Managing Editor, Robin Dluzen, that included Chicago Art Magazine, Chicago DIY Film,Chicago Performance And Trailers, and TINC. Most of my submissions appeared in Chicago DIY Film and Chicago Performance And Trailers, although I contributed to all the online Chicago Art Machine publications.

I was a writer and performer with this local comedy group from 1989 to 2009. Famous In The Future continues to perform in the Chicago area, and appeared at every one of the Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sinstheatre festivals that were held at the Mary-Arrchie Theatre. Since the closing of the Mary-Arrchie Theatre a few years ago, Famous In The Future has carried on the tradition by presenting Yippie Fest each year in August.

I'm an active member of SCBWI, (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and have written two Middle Grade fantasy novels. I've just finished a YA/paranormal novel, and also wrote a suspense/satiric novel that takes place amidst Chicago's alternative music scene in the mid-1980s.

Broken Hearted Toy

The blog title comes from the line, "I'm the brokenhearted toy you play with" in the song "I Can't Let Go" by The Hollies. One of the great original British Invasion bands, The Hollies continue to have an immense influence on power pop bands to this day, and have finally been inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here is a video of "I Can't Let Go" being performed in 1966.